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“As the light faded from the sky, we would build an immense bonfire and settle down to eat steak and roast corn, drink boiled coffee, sing songs and tell stories as the fire roared upward and sent its sparks toward the star-lit hood of the sky. Then the cattle would gather all around us in […]

(Part I of II) What does it really mean to farm sustainably? To be committed to agricultural sustainability? Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 answers — some of them vigorously in opposition to other answers. There is, however, agreement that sustainability in agriculture is essential for the planet’s health and future — to our […]

Probably 20 years ago, I was prevailed upon by my late cousin Peg Townsend to write down recollections from my childhood. At first I was reluctant, but I finally did it. The following ramblings are excerpted from those memories through what we ate on our farm during the 1940s. Sweet as sugar. Before the war, […]

Leave it to those same fine souls who brought us “cocoa powder” that tastes nothing like actual chocolate, in any form, to be up to their old hijinks when it comes to “fixing dinner.” Food giant Nestle is now linking healthy families with gathering around the table at dinnertime in a new advertising campaign for […]

Just days after 20 inches of snow blanketed the ridge, a second storm arrived. We could have another 8 inches by morning. Such conditions bring out the softie in many of us. We make sure the bird feeders are filled even before we shovel out the driveway. Feeding the deer? But what about feeding the […]

Remember that high hornets’ nest I wrote about in the Jan. 21 column? Old-timers believed the higher the hornets built their nests, the deeper the snow. Well, that nest tells the true story about snowfall here, and every day there are a few more inches wiping out the creature glyphs in the now unblemished surface. […]

Have you thought about developing a public relations plan for your farm? As we look at the challenges facing agriculture, topping the list today is the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) and their attempt to place an issue on the November 2010 ballot. It will take the help of all farmers to help spread […]

Hello Again! This certainly will be a February to remember for years to come. Snow days My daughter is beginning to think that she is being home schooled. It is good to have time together as a family and we are very grateful that our electricity and heat have remained on. Many of our neighbors […]